Hees will be succeeded at Burger King by current CFO Daniel Schwartz, another 3G partner, who is immediately being moved up a rung at the burger chain to chief operating officer until the CEO change is made.

The CEO change at Burger King will happen on July 1, unless the Heinz deal closes earlier. The deal is expected to close late in the second quarter or in the third quarter. Antritrust clearance has already been granted in most countries.

Hees will remain involved at Burger King as a vice chairman, the company said, and will remain as part of its executive committee.

3G and Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy Heinz for $23 billion nearly two months ago, adding to both investors’ stable of consumer products. The Brazilian firm was founded by a trio of businessmen who built a fortune in beer and control Anheuser-Busch InBev. They had made a splash by scooping up Burger King for $4.1 billion in October 2010. They then struck a deal to take a portion of the company public in 2012, selling a 29% stake for $1.4 billion.

That quick return came partly thanks to a cost-cutting initiative at Burger King, a process led by CEO Hees. Only days after 3G completed its purchase, the burger company announced a major revamp of its top executives with a new heads of global operations, performance, Latin America, North America and human resources.

Heinz’s release touts Hees’ work at Burger King for expanding Ebitda by 44% in just over two and a half years, and bringing margins up as well.

Largely the thought had been that there would be less cost-cutting around at Heinz for the new owners. But the buyout team had not made it clear what role Heinz’s current CEO and Chairman William Johnson would be after the deal. It still remains up in the air if he will continue at the company. A release from Heinz said 3G and Berkshire “expect to discuss with Mr. Johnson his interest in a continuing role” with the company.

Buffett told CNBC the day of the deal announcement that Johnson had “done a very good job of running the company,” calling him a “very good custodian and developer of brands” and that he would “expect” Johnson would keep his job. But Buffett also praised 3G’s management and operating talents and made clear they were charge of Heinz.

“I would say this: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better developed management group,” he said.

Comments (2 of 2)

If I were a Heinz employee, I'd be getting my resume ready. Hees cleaned house on behalf of 3G when they took over Burger King. He appears to be from the "Chainsaw Al" school of management. It was not a bad thing for BK, where the organization had clearly gotten "fat". Maybe it will be a good thing for Heinz, but it won't be for the 10-20% of employees that will probably be let go.

I also wonder if Hees' connection to BK will make it harder to land the one big account that could change everything -- McDonalds.

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